'What they’re saying to you is there are other NBA owners in line,' said Healey of the process to date.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey thinks she knows why former Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca is not being allowed to buy the WNBA's Connecticut Sun franchise. "Let’s be really clear about that — what they’re saying to you is there are other NBA owners in line," said Healey in a recent interview with Boston Globe reporter Michael Silverman. The current explanation coming from the league is that the WNBA prefers to have the team moved to one of the markets that submitted an expansion bid.
But the Mohegan Tribe -- the current owners of the Sun -- and Pagliuca would be happy to further invest in the club to keep them in New England, and Pagliuca and Mark Lasry, head of a rival bid to move the team to Hartford, would do the same -- and for more than any offer currently coming from one of those jilted expansion markets, at that. So what exactly is going on here? "Why is that the predicate? Why is that the conversation? This is a relocation, this is not an expansion," rightly queries Healey.
"I understand the expansion process, and the league has got to have an eye on not diluting the quality of play and not expanding to too many new teams too quickly," added the Governor, who played the sport collegiately for Harvard. "They’ve had a thoughtful process about that."
"But this is not an expansion," hammered Healey. "This is a relocation of an existing team to a region that makes a lot of sense and is not going to detract from other potential expansion opportunities, including the recently awarded (expansion teams) ... It’s great for the players. It’s great for management. It’s great for the Sun. It’s great for the W. It’s great for the tribe who’s been at this for 20 years and losing money."
"I think that there is interest among new Celtics ownership in the game, I think they appreciate women’s sports and value women’s sports, and there’s an easy way to resolve this right here and now that doesn’t preclude owners in Houston or elsewhere in the existing WNBA to take advantage of expansion opportunities," she added.
Will the WNBA continue down a path taking the ire generated by the relocation of the Seattle SuperSonics to new levels by doubling the number of jilted markets in one stroke? Or will the league learn from the mistakes of its sibling league, and strike a compromise that works for all? Only time can tell.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: MA Governor Maura Healey on efforts to keep CT Sun in New England
Category: Basketball
